Headline o' the day:

Titanic lump of fat & wet-wipes dislodged from sewer

Noted tax-avoiders Thames Water's press release trumpets the news that they have excavated the largest ever "fatberg" -- a technical term denoting a huge, impacted lump of "festering food fat mixed with wet wipes" -- from a London sewer.

“Given we’ve got the biggest sewers and this is the biggest fatberg we’ve encountered, we reckon it has to be the biggest such berg in British history.

“The sewer was almost completely clogged with over 15 tonnes of fat. If we hadn’t discovered it in time, raw sewage could have started spurting out of manholes across the whole of Kingston.

“It was so big it damaged the sewer and repairs will take up to six weeks.

Oy, Jesse. My sympathies.

We've thought my Dad was doing pretty well recently, but yesterday was pretty sobering. We took him to the museum--they finally opened the natural history hall--and he seemed to be having a good time, but after a couple of hours he got really disoriented and started bumping into things. He couldn't identify me or my sister at any distance, and was generally pretty out of it.

So my sister took him home & he rested and had dinner with them. And he perked up, some. But when we were waiting for my BIL to bring the car around at the museum he basically said that he was ready to die now. And he told my sister over dinner that he's sure he doesn't have much time left.

This is a man with no chronic health conditions, full mobility, and only mild cognitive problems. We were hoping he'd have at least a couple of good years now that the burden of caring for my mother is over.

SIGH.

I'm going to email his doctor today, and check in with Dad later to see if he's feeling better. I suspect some of this is from no longer having what he saw as a purpose in his life.

Oh, Consuela. That's so hard.

I just got my 100th follower on Tumblr!

It was a porn site that I had to block.

I'm going to email his doctor today, and check in with Dad later to see if he's feeling better. I suspect some of this is from no longer having what he saw as a purpose in his life.

Is there any kind of support group he could attend for people whose spouses have died? It might be helpful for him.

he seemed to be having a good time, but after a couple of hours he got really disoriented and started bumping into things... So my sister took him home & he rested and had dinner with them.

Is he eating enough/drinking enough water? This sounds like his body just didn't have enough fuel. Not that depression isn't also part of the equation.

Work vent... If a moving light is not working and you have 3 potential replacement fixtures, why would you choose to use the one labeled "Bad Ballast"? And then change the (very expensive) lamp when it stops working? Just... why?

Jesse, Suela, I am sorry for both of your situations. I hold you in my thoughts.

I suspect some of this is from no longer having what he saw as a purpose in his life.

It is so very difficult. My mother (and me for that matter) went through this after we were widowed. After months and years of being needed so much, suddenly no one needs you. It is beyond disorienting. It is being left totally without purpose.

There is no cure for grief. The only suggestion I could offer is to make him feel needed. Ask his advice often. Ask for his help with anything.

It was a porn site that I had to block

I know this is a stupid question, but why did you have to block it? Were they spamming you or sending disturbing stuff?

For some reason provocateuse just got a small wave of Person of Interest fans. I'm guessing someone liked the Sarah Shahi reblogs I did.

Suela, that's very sobering. But what Laura says makes sense from what little I know--being needed is important, as long as it's not in ways that make you feel incompetent. Hell, everyone sounds useful. Me, my heart is with you.

I have a lot of paper reading to do this morning, and I'm distracted by the fact that I really should have worn a belt with this outfit. If only to hang my security tag from. I wonder if NBC is still selling Community lanyards...

I didn't have to block it, but I don't want to count it as one of my followers, either.